This Act may be cited as the Machinery Amendment Act 1986, and shall be read together with and deemed part of the Machinery Act 1950 (hereinafter referred to as the principal Act).

2 Interpretation

(1)

Section 2 of the principal Act is hereby amended by inserting, after the definition of the term “lifting tackle”, the following definition:

“‘Lifting vehicle’ means a vehicle drawn or propelled by mechanical or manual power designed principally to lift, carry, or stack goods by means of—

“(a)

A fork consisting of one or more arms which support the load; or

“(b)

A platform; or

“(c)

Any attachment or other mechanism:”.

(2)

Section 2 of the principal Act is hereby further amended by repealing the definition of the term “machinery”, and substituting the following definition:

“‘Machinery’—

“(a)

Means any prime mover or transmission machinery and any machine or appliance to which the motion of a prime mover is transmitted; and

“(b)

Includes—

“(i)

A lifting machine; and

“(ii)

A lifting vehicle; and

“(iii)

A machine (being a machine situated in a factory) driven wholly or partly by manual power, and

“(iv)

A tractor; but—

“(c)

Does not include any machinery excluded from the provisions of this Act pursuant to section 3 of this Act:”.

(3)

Section 2 of the principal Act is hereby further amended by inserting, after the definition of the term “secretary”, the following definition:

“‘Tractor’ means a vehicle propelled by mechanical power, controlled by a driver carried thereon, that is designed exclusively or principally for the purposes of traction and not for the carriage thereon of passengers (other than the driver) or of goods; but does not include a traction engine within the meaning of the Transport Act 1962:”.

(4)

The following enactments are hereby consequentially repealed:

(a)

Section 2 of the Machinery Amendment Act 1969:

(b)

Section 2(4) of the Machinery Amendment Act 1970.

3 Machinery to which Act does not apply

(1)

Section 3(1) of the principal Act (as substituted by section 3(1) of the Machinery Amendment Act 1970) is hereby amended by inserting, after paragraph (a), the following paragraph:

“(aa)

Any lifting vehicle or tractor used on any barge or hulk or on any wharf, or in any shed or store on or near to a wharf wherein cargo unloaded from a ship or to be loaded on to a ship may be stored:”.

(2)

Section 3(1)(c) of the principal Act (as so substituted) is hereby amended by inserting, after the words “any vehicle”, the words “(not being a lifting vehicle or a tractor)”.

(3)

Section 3(2) of the principal Act is hereby amended by omitting the expression “paragraph (e)” and substituting the expression “paragraph (g)”.

4 Young persons not to be employed in certain cases

(1)

The principal Act is hereby amended by repealing section 12 (as amended by section 3 of the Machinery Amendment Act 1956 and section 2 of the Machinery Amendment Act 1972), and substituting the following section:

“12

“(1)

No person under the age of 15 years shall be employed in working or assisting to work at or with any machinery.

“(2)

Nothing in subsection (1) of this section applies in respect of a tractor in any case to which section 21c(2) of this Act applies.

“(3)

No person under the age of 18 years shall be allowed to clean any machinery while any part of the machinery is in motion, or to work between the fixed and traversing part of any self acting machine while the traversing part is in motion by the action of mechanical power.”

(2)

The following enactments are hereby consequentially repealed—

(a)

Section 3 of the Machinery Amendment Act 1956:

(b)

Section 5(2) of the Machinery Amendment Act 1969:

(c)

The Machinery Amendment Act 1972.

5 Safety of tractors

Section 21b(1) of the principal Act (as enacted by section 2(1) of the Machinery Amendment Act 1965) is hereby amended by omitting the definition of the term “tractor”.

6 Children on tractors and implements

The principal Act is hereby amended by repealing section 21c (as inserted by section 47(1) of the Summary Offences Act 1981), and substituting the following section:

“21c

“(1)

Every person commits an offence against this Act who permits any child under the age of 15 years—

“(a)

To drive any tractor; or

“(b)

To ride upon any tractor while it is drawing any implement; or

“(c)

To ride upon any implement (not being a sled or trailer designed or adapted exclusively or principally for the carriage of passengers or of goods) drawn by any tractor.

“(2)

Nothing in subsection (1) of this section applies where—

“(a)

The tractor is being used—

“(i)

In connection with agricultural operations; or

“(ii)

To instruct a child to drive a tractor for use in connection with agricultural operations; and

“(b)

The child who—

“(i)

Drives the tractor, or

“(ii)

Rides upon the tractor while it is drawing any implement; or

“(iii)

Rides upon any implement (not being a sled or trailer designed or adapted exclusively or principally for the carriage of passengers or of goods) drawn by the tractor,—

is of or over the age of 12 years.

“(3)

It is a defence in a prosecution under this section if the defendant proves—

“(a)

That he had reasonable cause to believe and did believe that the child was of or over the age of 15 years; or

“(b)

That, in the case of a child under the age of 12 years who does an act of a kind referred to in subsection (2)(b) of this section, he had reasonable cause to believe, and did believe, that the child was of or over the age of 12 years.

“(4)

In this section the term ‘agricultural operations’ has the same meaning as it has in section 21b of this Act.”

7 New sections inserted

The principal Act is hereby amended by inserting, after section 26, the following sections:

“26a Codes of practice

“(1)

In this section and in sections 26b and 26c of this Act—

“‘Chief Inspector of Factories’ means the Chief Inspector of Factories appointed under section 4(6) of the Factories and Commercial Premises Act 1981:

“‘Chief Construction Safety Engineer’ means the Chief Construction Safety Engineer appointed under section 4(1) of the Construction Act 1959:

“‘Code of practice’ means a recommended practice and includes a description of any commodity, phenomenon, process, or practice, by reference to its nature, quality, strength, purity, composition, quantity, dimension, weight, grade, durability, origin, age, intensity, duration, or other characteristic whatsoever, or any 2 or more of them, and may also include a glossary of terms, definitions, and symbols, or any of them.

“(2)

The Chief Inspector of Factories or the Chief Construction Safety Engineer may, from time to time, issue for the purposes of this Act, codes of practice relating to safety in the assembly, maintenance, use or operation of machinery, or any amusement device, and may from time to time amend or revoke any such code of practice.

“26b Codes of practice to be approved by Minister

“(1)

No code of practice and no amendment or revocation of a code of practice shall have any force or effect until it has been approved by the Minister.

“(2)

The Minister shall not approve any code of practice or any amendment or revocation of a code of practice unless—

“(a)

Not less than 1 month has elapsed since the publication in the Gazette of a notice of the intention of the Chief Inspector of Factories or Chief Construction Safety Engineer, as the case may be, to apply for approval; and

“(b)

The Minister has consulted such persons as he considers will be affected thereby, or representatives of those persons, and they have had the opportunity to consider its possible effects and comment on those effects to the Minister, and

“(c)

The Minister has considered any comments made to him concerning those effects.

“(3)

When the Minister approves a code of practice, or any amendment or revocation of a code of practice, he shall—

“(a)

Publish a notice of his approval in the Gazette; and

“(b)

Cause that code of practice or amendment or revocation to be promulgated in such manner as he thinks fit.

“(4)

Publication in the Gazette of a notice under subsection (3)(a) of this section shall be conclusive evidence that the requirements of this section have been complied with in respect of the approval specified in the notice.

“(5)

Where any person is charged with an offence in respect of a failure to comply with any provision of this Act, the Court may, in determining whether that person has failed to comply with the provision, have regard to any code of practice in force pursuant to subsection (1) of this section at the time of the alleged failure relating to matters of the kind to which the provision relates.

“26c Proof of codes of practice

Without affecting any other method of proof, the production in any proceedings of a copy of any code of practice purporting to be issued by the Chief Inspector of Factories or the Chief Construction Safety Engineer, as the case may be, shall, in the absence of proof to the contrary, be sufficient evidence that it has been issued under the authority of section 26a of this Act and that it has been approved by the Minister under section 26b of this Act.”

8 Penalties

The principal Act is hereby amended by repealing section 29 (as substituted by section 3(1) of the Machinery Amendment Act 1978 and amended by section 6(2) of the Machinery Amendment Act 1979 and section 47(2) of the Summary Offences Act 1981), and substituting the following section:

“29

“(1)

Every person who commits an offence against this Act shall be liable on summary conviction—

“(a)

In the case of an offence against section 11 of this Act, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months:

“(b)

In the case of an offence against section 18 of this Act, to a fine not exceeding $2,500:

“(c)

In the case of an offence against section 19 of this Act,—

“(i)

To a fine not exceeding $5,000 where that person is the owner of the machinery concerned; or

“(ii)

To a fine not exceeding $2,500 in every other case:

“(d)

In the case of an offence against section 21c of this Act, to a fine not exceeding $1,250:

“(e)

In the case of an offence against section 31(3) of this Act, to a fine not exceeding $250 for every day on which the default continues:

“(f)

In the case of an offence against section 32 of this Act, to a fine not exceeding $5,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 months:

“(g)

In the case of an offence against a provision of this Act not specified in paragraphs (a) to (f) of this subsection, for which no specific penalty is elsewhere provided, to a fine not exceeding $5,000 and, if the offence is a continuing one, to a further fine not exceeding $250 for every day or part of a day during which the offence has continued.

“(2)

Every person who commits an offence against any regulation made under this Act for which no specific penalty is elsewhere provided, shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding $5,000 and, if the offence is a continuing one, to a further fine not exceeding $250 for every day or part of a day during which the offence has continued.

“(3)

A fine imposed in respect of an offence against section 31(3) of this Act shall be irrespective of any fine to which the defendant is liable in respect of the original offence concerned.”

9 Regulations

Section 39(1)(k) of the principal Act (as amended by section 3(6) of the Machinery Amendment Act 1978) is hereby amended—

(a)

By omitting from subparagraph (i) the expression “$2,000”, and substituting the expression “$5,000”; and

(b)

By omitting from subparagraph (ii) the expression “$100”, and substituting the expression “$250”.

10 Repeals

The following enactments are hereby repealed—

(a)

Section 3(1) and (6) of the Machinery Amendment Act 1978:

(b)

Section 6(2) of the Machinery Amendment Act 1979:

(c)

Section 47 of the Summary Offences Act 1981.

This Act is administered in the Department of Labour.

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Machinery Amendment Act 1986